Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Fan Feedback: Sticks and Bones

I absolutely love receiving feedback from my readers. Definitely feeling the love from the Young Adult Reader community. You guys are awesome! Keep the comments coming! I read each, and every one, of them.

I'd like to give a special shout out to my fans across the pond! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know what you thought about "Sticks and Bones"!

"It's an awsome read I would recommend it to all my friends As a young adult just out of high school I could really connect with the characters. She really got the cliques right. A real emotional ending. A wonderful book for young adults and parents alike."

From my email and other sources:

"I don't see many YA crime books around, and this was an absolute delight. A far cry from the good old days of Nancy Drew, we have an intelligent and thrilling read. You treat the violence with care, making it realistic, subtly horrific without painting the scene red, and strong characters make this a brilliant read."

"Absolutely brilliant story. You know how to tell a good story and pull the reader along for a thrilling ride. The murder scene was excellently executed (oops excuse the pun!!) Spot on character developement makes this an all round exciting MUST read."

"Marcia's character comes across well and her reflections to her youth paint a picture of her personality. I liked the part where she entered the barn and recollected her brothers prank. I think the little touches you write make her a character that young adults can relate to. Your style is good and the tention builds at a good pace."

"WoW! This is a page turner. You got the suspense with the missing girl, Leah, and the body with half a tongue missing. You have all the facets, details, approaches neeeded to pull of a thriller murder plot. Great writing to back it up. One hell of a a book! Damned good."

"There is something real about a crime thriller and your book has 'it' ."

"Very good read and one of the better YA stories on site - doesn't talk down to the audience. :)"

"Your use of short paragraphs and crisp, realistic dialogue keeps the flow of your story moving well. Your work is character rich, I especially like how you build Marcia, and your descriptive writing is sure to appeal to the YA audience."

"Relentless pace and polished writing kept me reading - and reading."

And then I received this; thank you so much for your insight:

"The Teenscene website is a nice introduction, different and very much ‘of the time’; as an IT writer (in my day job) I know that online is the first place I’d look for information about a missing teenager.

I like the way that Marcia easily identifies with high school. Personally, I think for us all it’s such a defining time of our lives that it’s one that’s easy to go back to. You mix this well with her lack of understanding and confusion about how catty the girls can be online.

Her character develops well, and you raise some interesting questions about why she turned her back on a career in law for the forensics.

I like the way that you segue from her internal dialogue into the conversation on the phone, but also tell us salient information about the force. This is a neat trick to pull off. It’s easy to get bogged down in one person’s narrative and forget for the MC to interact with other, a trap you don’t fall into.

The tension builds well at the crime scene. I love the way that we see her elated at the discovery of a body and then repulsed by the reality of the scene. You tease us with what has actually happened, just enough. Similarly, you don’t give too graphic a description, but my imagination has already done the job for you - nice work.

There’s also a nice contrast between her and Jonathan, which lets us see her softer, sympathetic side, again this is nice character development."

Again, thank you to all my readers! Feedback matters. You matter. Look forward to my next novel, "Dance with Me", a paranormal romance. And due out in 2012, "The Malakai Chronicles" a science fiction trilogy.